The Wise and the Foolish Virgins; Peter von CORNELIUS; 1813; oil on canvas; Kunstmuseum, Düsseldorf, Germany
The wise and the foolish vigins
Unerstand the scene
What you can see in this picture……
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A parable. Ten maidens at night. Five of them carry lit oil lamps, they are the wise virgins; the other five carry the same lamps that are extinguished, they are the foolish or silly ones. The latter will not take part in the feast when the Bridegroom arrives. Now the Bridegroom has arrived, and the wise virgins welcome him with their lamps and kneel down. Whereas the foolish virgins are agitated in the background, trying to find someone ready to sell them some oil. For they have no longer any oil, they have burnt it all before the feast. They are improvident. In this picture, the messianic meaning of the parable is unveiled: the Bridegroom is definitely Christ, accompanied by Peter with his keys, the wise virgins are in the light of the kingdom of God whereas the foolish ones, still looking for oil, have been rejected to the bottom of darkness. and in other pictures
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The biblical narrative
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 25
Jesus tells a parable about his kingdom
"Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened to ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
Those that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps."
They all go to sleep but, when the Bridegroom arrives, the foolish ones cannot light up their lamps, they have no more oil.
And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and those that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Afterward came also the other virgins, saying: "Lord, Lord, open to us !" But he answered : "Verily I say to you, I do not know you !" Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
(Matthew 25:1-13).
Comment
One must always be ready for the coming of the Kingdom, the return of Christ. The symbolism of light and darkness is directly related to the kingdom of God.
See similar pictures
| Two close representations: the wise virgins are with the bridegroom in the house whose door is closed, the foolish virgins lament outside
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The wise Virgins are let into the House with the Bridegroom (Christ); the foolish virgins are shut out; c. 1450; drawing; from the “Speculum Humanae Salvationis” of Cologne; manuscript MMW 10 B 34 41r; Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague
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The Wise and Foolish Virgins; Edward BURNE-JONES; 1859; drawing; private collection
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The opposition between Wisdom, which is order, stability… and Foolishness, which is disorder, movement…
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The Foolish Virgin; c. 1245; stone; Cathedral; Magdeburg, Germany
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The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins; William BLAKE; 1822; watercolour; Tate Collection; London
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Maurice Denis freely draws his inspiration from the parable to give a new dimension to wisdom.
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Maurice Denis freely draws his inspiration from the parable to give a new dimension to wisdom
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Further developpements
A few expressions have remained famous“you know neither the day nor the hour”: the ending of the parable has a religious meaning but it is also used to speak about an unexpected event.
The phrase “foolish virgin” is generally detached from its context but owes its success to the opposition of the two words.
The adjectives “wise” and “foolish” are traditional but a few new translations prefer “sensible” and “prudent”, “silly” and “thoughtless”.
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